Resource

A Resource Pool is part of a character's ability to use Skills. It's generally gathered in various ways and expended upon using as skill, where skills have different "costs", and use a different amount of resource from the pool. Mana is the prime example of a resource pool.

Each character uses a different and unique resource in Diablo III:

• The Barbarian uses Fury.
• The Demon Hunter's resource is under development.
• The Monk uses Spirit.
• The Witch Doctor uses mana.
• The Wizard uses Arcane Power.

Diablo Games

In Diablo I and Diablo II all classes used Mana as their one main resource, but in Diablo III not all classes share the same resource. In all the Diablo Games so far, the resource pool is located in the UI, on the bottom right hand side, usually in an orb or sphere.

Item Bonuses

The issue of items providing bonuses to resources is complicated in Diablo III since there are so many different resources. In Diablo II +mana was a simple bonus of use to everyone (though not equally useful). But in Diablo III only the Barbarian benefits from Fury, only the Monk from Spirit, etc. And the bonuses to each resource vary; for some increasing the total pool is viable, for others only improving the fill rate, or decreasing the drain rate. This prevents the team from using some sort of universal "+resource" modifier, and requires a lot of individual item bonus tweaking.

Jay Wilson answered a question about this during an interview from Blizzcon 2010.[1]

Jay Wilson: Yes we’re definitely going to put in objects that will do that. It’s been a question of how we want to implement that. Right now every class has their own resource. And that’s the goal. If we can’t get that to work, if we can’t make them different and all working adequately, then we might double up on some resources on some characters. We’ve waited to do the itemization until we have the resources locked down. If they’re that different then we might restrict the resource bonuses to class-based items.

It feels pretty bad when you get say, a sword that’s got… it’s one thing to get a sword with say, plus strength on it, and you decide not to use it because that bonus isn’t really the best for your Wizard. That’s one thing. But if you get a sword that has a resource bonus for another class, that’s entirely unusable for you, that’s no fun. That feels worse than just getting a stat that’s questionably not for you. Having an object that you can equip that states in it a bonus that’s useless to you, that feels bad.

We do have class-based items for that. We’re also doing a lot with enchantments, because enchantments don’t feel bad if you find an enchantment that’s not for you, the way an item is.

Diablo III Resource Pools

Each class in Diablo III has a unique resource.

Barbarian: Fury

Fury, abandoned "traffic light" form.

Fury is the resource pool for the Barbarian in Diablo III. It is generated by taking or dealing damage, and expended by using most skills. The various melee attacks Barbarian skills, such as Cleave, Bash, and Frenzy cost very little Fury to use, and will generally return more from the damage they deal. Those skills are used to build up enough Fury to use the more expensive and dramatic skills.

• Generated by:
  • Dealing damage.
  • Taking damage.

• Removed by:
  • Using abilities that requires Fury, generally more powerful abilities.
  • Inactivity over time.
  • Unknown if some creatures can leech it.

• Fury Related Skills:
  • War Cry generates a certain amount of Fury and increases armor.
• Fury Related Traits:
  • Bad Temper: Increases Fury gain and slows Fury drain.
  • Inner Rage: Increases Fury gain and slows Fury drain while attacking the same target.

Demon Hunter: Unknown

The newly-revealed Demon Hunter used mana at Blizzcon 2010, but that was only as a place holder. The developers refused to give out any hints about what sort of resource the class might use long term.[2]

Question: Any clue about the resource for the Demon Hunter?

Jay Wilson: If I knew I would give you a clue. We decided not to worry about her resource until after Blizzcon.

Monk: Spirit

The Monk uses Spirit, the resource the developers frequently cite[3] as their favorite and the one they feel is working the best. Spirit is generated by striking enemies with the various combo skills and expended using other offensive and defensive skills. Spirit is also modified by various of the Monk traits. This design makes the combos, all of which are quite powerful melee attacks, free to use.

A Monk could play fairly effectively using nothing but combo skills, all of which carry substantial bonuses on top of their damage, so making them yield Spirit to fuel the other Monk Skills as well seems quite a bargain for the class.

• Generated by:
  • Using Combo Skills

• Spent by:
  • Using non-combo skills

• Combo Skills: Each use of one adds a set amount of Spirit to the pool.
  • Hands of Lightning --Combo that deals 3 punches with substantial bonus lightning damage.
  • Long Reach -- Combo that strikes multiple enemies with greater than melee range.
  • Crippling Wave -- Combo that slows and dazes enemies.
  • Dashing Strike -- Combo that allows the Monk to move very quickly across long distances to the enemy. (Under construction.)
  • Way of the Hundred Fists -- Combo that deals many powerful hits to all enemies in the vicinity.
  • Exploding Palm -- Combo that time bombs enemies, triggering them to explode and damage all nearby enemies upon their death.
  • Sweeping Wind -- Combo that hits all nearby enemies multiple times.

• Spirit Related Monk Traits:
  • True Spirit -- Increases Spirit regeneration. (Under construction.)

Witch Doctor: Mana

Mana is the best understood resource pool. It's appeared in countless RPGs, including Diablo I and Diablo II, and appears with the familiar blue color in Diablo III. It's spent by the Witch Doctor skills and assisted in regeneration by various Witch Doctor traits.

• Restored by:
  • Regeneration over time (may be boosted by items, skills, and traits).
  • Picking up Health Globes (with a specific skill).
  • Killing enemies with specific skills.

• Spent by:
  • Using an Ability.
  • Some enemies may drain mana with their attacks.

• Mana Related Skills:
  • Soul Harvest --Formerly a nova-like attack that restored mana for each enemy killed, this skill was changed to a general +spell damage buff.

• Mana Related Traits:
  • Spirit Vessel -- +mana for each health orb enjoyed by the Witch Doctor.
  • Mana Regeneration -- Increases the mana regeneration rate.
  • Ritual of Blood -- Draws 50% of mana cost from health.
  • Meditation -- Some skills return 30% of their mana cost over 10 seconds. (Under construction.)
  • Spiritual Attunement -- Increases the Witch Doctor's maximum mana.

Wizard: Arcane Power

Arcane Power is the new resource for the Wizard class, replacing Instability, which replaced mana. AP grants the Wizard a pool that can not be scaled up by levels or items; Wizard skills and Wizard traits that help with AP lower the cost of skills, or increase the regeneration rate. This resource remains under construction, and as of Blizzcon 2010 word is that the Wizard may yet switch back to mana. [4]

• Restored by:
  • Regeneration over time (may be boosted by skills/traits).
• Spent by:
  • Casting spells.

• Arcane Power Related Skills:
  • Energy Shield -- A % of damage is taken from Arcane Power instead of health.
• Arcane Power Related Traits:
  • Arcane Channeling -- Increases the rate of AP regeneration.
  • Energy Reserves -- Health globes refill 10% of the AP pool.
  • Drain Power -- Regenerate health and Arcane power equal to 10% of melee damage you deal.
  • Expanded Mind -- Increases Arcane Power pool. (Under construction.)

Development

All of the classes debuted with some form of Mana for their resource. Their permanent resources were added in during later development, and tinkered with extensively.

Barbarian

Fury is the Barbarian's resource. It builds up as the Barbarian takes or deals damage, and is expended on most of his attack and buff skills.

Fury debuted at BlizzCon 2008, in the form of a globe. During later development it changed into a "traffic light" stack of three orbs at Blizzcon 2009, before changing back to a full globe in early 2010. Many more details can be seen on the Fury article.

Monk

Spirit is the Monk's resource. It's built up by dealing damage with combo skills and expended to cast other, non-combo skills. It was described in mid-2010, and debuted at Blizzcon 2010 in October of that year.

Witch Doctor

Mana is the Witch Doctor's resource. It works much as Mana did in Diablo I and Diablo II; some amount is expended with each cast spell from a pool that regenerates over time. Various skills and items can hasten the regeneration rate, and the Witch Doctor can also gain mana from health orbs if he has invested in the skills and traits that allow him to do so.

The Witch Doctor may ultimately get a different resource; it would work like mana, but would have a different name and a slimy, gloopy greenish appearance, simply to make it seem more Witch Doctor themed.

Wizard

Arcane Power is the Wizard's resource, though the D3 team said, in late 2010, that it might switch back to mana, since they're not entirely satisfied with how the resource works. Prior to Arcane Power, the Wizard used Instability, which was scrapped since it did not make the character feel "glass cannon-y" enough.

Demon Hunter

The Demon Hunter class used mana when she debuted at BlizzCon 2010. This was a place holder, but the team was not ready to give any hints as to what her final resource might be. There have been few comments made by the development team, but it is widely speculated that her resource will have something to do with the balance between discipline and hatred.

Reference

• Jay Wilson interview after GamesCom 2010
• Jay Wilson interview
• Bashiok on Non-Mana Resources and Cinematics
• Monk Mana Resource System Progressing
• WWI 2008
• BlizzCon 2008
• BlizzCon 2009

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